Update of Sundays Celebration of 50 years of Junior Sailing

After a week of unseasonal weather, Sunday showed signs of improvement, and ultimately we had the perfect sailing day – sun, wind, and lots of smiles. Commodore Ronan Beirne was in attendance to welcome the families as they arrived in the NYC. We thank him for his genuine interest in the Junior section.
Unfortunately, our Toppers, Lasers, 420s, and our representative Oppies were all away at regional events or training events. Family holidays kept others away. Despite this big loss of numbers, 50 kids and their families turned up. We really do have great depth in numbers.
A mix of cruisers and club boats made up the flotilla that headed for Dalkey Island. We thank those boat owners who have no current involvement with the Juniors, but gave of their time to recognise the occasion and to Fiona Staunton for her assistance with the cruisers. For our age group of 6 – 13 year olds, being on a cruiser for the first time was a huge thrill. Brian Hall, who very kindly acted as Safety Officer for the day, lead off the flotilla, and Conor O’Regan marshalled the rear.
On the water safety crews dispensed sweets galore and bottles of bubbles. Thankfully they had little else to do. Our drone was grounded because of the good winds, but thankfully we have many photos of the day. Our intended waspz display could not take place as the strong winds would have put him over the harbour speed limit!!
Sadly, the Pontoon 50 Splash where the Juniors intended to create a new Guinness World Record to recognise the 50th year of Juniors in the NYC had to be postponed due to a Swimming ban put in place by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, following an e.coli outbreak in the immediate area.
Louise and her team kindly provided burgers for sailors and parents on their return. During lunch the kids were challenged to an Egg Drop by Eavan, which entailed an egg being dropped from the crane onto the pontoon, the winners being those who’s eggs remained intact. One or two bright sparks headed for the kitchens to have their eggs hard boiled, but many other creative ideas were presented. Ross had the messy job of examining the contents after being dropped from the crane onto the pontoon. Some parents will have the job of cleaning out kits bags etc. where the result was not so successful – scrambled eggs on the runny side! The parachutes seemed to have been the most successful way to deliver the egg safely to the pontoon. Gary has gotton over his fear of heights having successfully come down off the crane.
All the kids got a wonderful Tshirt specially produced for the day, which recognised the Juniors 50th Anniversary. The design of the Tshirt was the result of a competition amongst the kids a number of weeks prior to the event.
Eavan was thrilled when Teddys ice creams arrived onto the Platform and very quickly a queue of kids and adults swarmed around the vintage van, with orders galore for 99s.
Very shortly afterwards, a coach arrived to take the kids into town for the Viking Splash Tour. Amy Lambert, who had worked so hard all day, was one of the adults who managed to return our kids safely back to the NYC in the early evening. Well done Amy. A great time was had by all.
Another successful NYC day. Many helped, lots participated, importantly we had Smiles all round.
Eavan Miller, Brendan O’Connor, Francis VanSteenberg. Sub Committee.